If You're Not White It's Harder To Get Mental Health Care

[MUSIC PLAYING]

FRANCESCA FIORENTINI:
It's hard enough

to get mental health
treatment in the US,

but it's even harder
if you're not white.

Studies show that racial
and ethnic minorities are

significantly less likely
to receive mental health

treatment than whites, so
we reached out to experts

to find out why it's so hard
for people of color to get help.

The first thing is stigma.

In other words, shame or
disgrace that can make people

feel excluded.

Stigma is a big deal in
the US, but especially

in communities of color.

RAVI CHANDRA: The
Asian-American community

has high amounts of
depression, anxiety,

and other mental illnesses,
just like every other community.

Even when people might get
connected to a healthcare

provider, often the
family doesn't understand.

They feel like if it's
known that their child is

seeking help, that the family
will be looked down upon.

JOSÉ RAMÓN FERNÁNDEZ-PEÑA:
Your cultural value,

your cultural circle does not
afford you the possibility

of asking for help.

Not being able to even
verbalize that peace then

leads people to very dark
corners and very dark places.

Untreated depression
in those cases

oftentimes leads to suicidal
ideation or drinking

or substance use of some sort.

FRANCESCA FIORENTINI:
The second reason

is a lack of
cultural competence.

Cultural competence
is a doctor's ability

to recognize the different
places their patients are

coming from, and then be
able to adapt to their needs.

MICHELLE CLARK: Traditionally,
African-Americans will not

come in and say, I'm depressed.

They'll say, I'm sick and
tired of being sick and tired.

Fatigue is a real clear sign.

So they'll not really
even appreciate themselves

that what they're experiencing
is a mental disorder,

because that's
considered frailty.

And frailty is something that's
not really considered acceptable

in a community that consists
of mostly working people.

RAVI CHANDRA: A person
might be considered

psychotic if they have-- if
they say they believe in ghosts.

But this is a cultural belief.

Sometimes it can rise to
the level of a delusion,

but sometimes it just has
to be taken into account.

FRANCESCA FIORENTINI: Not
being sensitive to culture

can lead to a wrong diagnosis.

And that's happened.

And it's led to a
legacy of distrust.

That distrust has
included outright racism.

MICHELLE CLARK: During
the times of slavery,

African-Americans, particularly
African-American women,

were experimented upon in
terms of OB/GYN surgeries,

and there's clear
history of that.

They were also subjected to an
experiment called the Tuskegee

experiment.

FRANCESCA FIORENTINI: We're
talking about a federally-funded

40-year syphilis experiment that
turned people into human lab

rats without their knowledge.

And by the way, that experiment
didn't end until 1972.

And for people who
don't speak English,

finding a therapist who speaks
your language isn't easy.

JOSÉ RAMÓN FERNÁNDEZ-PEÑA:
On a national scale,

the lack of mental health
providers that speak other

languages is large.

Think about the areas
of conflict right now,

the Middle East.

There's a lot of people
coming from Syria

who speaks Arabic fluently.

When you think about people
migrating from Africa, people

from Ethiopia or Eritrea that
are coming to the United States,

I don't know how many
languages in India.

Not everybody speaks Hindi.

FRANCESCA FIORENTINI: Finally,
there's a lack of providers

and few mental
healthcare providers

of color, which could go a
long way into tackling all

the issues we just discussed.

And while the
Affordable Care Act

has helped a lot of
people gain access

to treatment, who's
filling all that demand?

And if people have to wait
for hours in line just

to get treatment, which patients
will fall through the cracks?

When it comes to mental
health in the US,

there's a lot of talk
and little action.